


10 Years Ago

by chillsoya



Series: Toddlers and Tinder (plus side stories) [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Assault, Bisexual Remus Lupin, Bullying, Drunk James, F/M, Forced out the closet Remus, Friends With Benefits, High School AU, Homophobia, M/M, Marauders, Marauders era, Mental Illness, Protective James, Sirius Black Being an Asshole, Underage - Freeform, Underage Drinking, asshole sirius, harry potter marauders, james x sirius fwb, side fic, sirius catches feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-07 05:11:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6786724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chillsoya/pseuds/chillsoya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sirius and James are friends with benefits, but James insists it isn't serious. Sirius doesn't feel the same way. When James susses out that Remus is gay and fancies Sirius, he lets Sirius know so he doesn't lead him on. Sirius takes everything the wrong way and makes a shit tonne of mistakes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	10 Years Ago

**Author's Note:**

> Please remember to check the tags for warnings! I'll outline the main ones:  
> Underage drinking, mentions of underage sex, homophobic bullying, physical bullying/assault, a lot of swearing.  
> This is a side fic to 'Toddlers and Tinder' which you'll find on my profile.  
> Enjoy!

“Hey Pads, mate.” James flops down next to Sirius in a heap of gangly limbs, his hair a bird’s nest and his glasses skewiff, as per. Sirius has been sitting drawing unflattering pictures of his least favourite teachers in a homework book he’ll never turn in, waiting for his best friend to show up.   
“Prongs. You’re late, again.” Sirius pretends to be annoyed but gives the game away by smirking. James doesn’t notice, though - he’s preoccupied. Not being granted with a ‘bugger off’ or a ‘get fucked’, Sirius turns to pay full attention. What could be so demanding that James doesn’t even remember to give him a snarky comeback? 

Sirius somehow always makes it to reg on time despite staying with James at the Potter manor currently - James dawdles in the morning, then spends 20 minutes in the school bathroom preening to impress Lily who sits two rows forward with Remus. Despite how it may look, James’s messiness is quite carefully sculpted in the hopes of being ‘mysterious’ and ‘sexy’.

“Look, Pads, I need to tell you something. Keep it quiet though, yeah?” Sirius raises a brow, leaning in to listen.  
“Sure. ‘Sup?”  
“Mate, I think Moony fancies you.” James has a solemn look on his face, like he’s breaking bad news. More than anything he’s convinced it’s bad news for Remus - currently James is well aware that Sirius is only interested in James himself, given their sort-of-friends-with-benefits thing. It’s not that James is gay - he’s just horny and Sirius is fit. Seems a fair deal, and it’ll certainly do until he’s got Lily on his arm.

“No way. Rem? Are you serious?”  
“No, Sirius, I’m James. But in all _seriousness,_ I’m totally Sirius.” Pads groans and wallops James about the head, horrified by his terrible puns.  
“First of all, when did you become a dad? Secondly, how do you know?” James shrugs evasively, again trying to be mysterious. Sirius wallops him again.  
“Ow! Ugh, it’s just how he looks at you… It’s kind of… _Moony.”_  
“Can you not?” Sirius laughs despite himself, rolling his eyes.  
“Anyway, I just don’t think you should lead him on.” James finally huffs, upset that no one appreciates his amazing banter. Sirius shrugs and leans back, somehow making the crappy school chairs look comfortable.  
“I’ll try, James, but I can’t be blamed if I’m totally… Irresistible.” 

Come lunch time, Sirius has had plenty time to ruminate on the information James has given him. The Marauders have been on rocky ground recently thanks to a handful of things. First of all, there’s Sirius, who finally managed to run away/get kicked out, meaning he has to shack up at the Potter’s. Thanks to the upheaval, he’s been getting detention after detention for misconduct and can’t seem to go a day without putting not just a toe out of line but sometimes a whole leg.

Sirius hasn’t been coping well, in truth, and Remus and Peter (the more  _ feeling  _ of the Marauders) consider it a cry for attention. Another reason is Sirius’s sudden animosity towards Peter, always calling him names and picking on him. There’s a silent pact within the Marauders that they never, ever make fun of Peter despite his less redeeming qualities and it hasn’t been breached since they were eleven.

Then there’s Sirius and James. Peter and Remus don’t know that they’ve been getting off together for a couple of months but it’s hard to keep it under wraps. James has a habit of blabbing secrets to pretty much anyone that’ll listen and Sirius, who is more invested in the ‘thing’ they have going is keen to tell people as if that could convince James to make things more romantic. The tension between them is palpable at times, especially the day after a fight where words like ‘taking advantage’ and ‘overbearing’ were thrown around.

And now, Remus allegedly likes Sirius. In Sirius’s opinion, love triangles are overrated and he should be able to judge with the amount of soppy love novels and erotica he’s read. But bringing it into real life makes things far more complicated - he likes Remus, a lot, but not really in that way. There’s no denying he’s hot as fuck in a sort of angular, fierce way whilst somehow remaining funny, nerdy and charming.  However, Sirius is just so into James and it’s hard to see past it.

The worry is that these feelings will mess things up for him. Sirius knows that James dotes on Remus, having essentially taken him under his wing when Remus was being bullied at the beginning of high school. If James goes and starts feeling bad for Remus, he might well cut this thing they have going off. It’s hard to admit but Pads knows James isn’t so much interested in him as he is a hormonal, sex driven teenager. Knowing it makes him angry beyond relief.

Remus and James are late to the common room at lunch after being held back in chemistry with Mr Flitwick. Sirius and Peter are already sitting in their usual space, surrounded by their year and the year above’s most popular while Pads renegades them with something that must be hilarious, as the latecomers can hear them howling with laughter from the next corridor down.

“Oh, fuck - forgot my textbook. Sorry, James, I’ll meet you up there. Save me a seat!” Remus is half way down the corridor already once he’s finished speaking. James carries on up to the common room, excited to know what’s going on.

“Oh Moony, oh Moony, how flattered I am that you  _ moon _ over me!” Sirius cries, throwing his head back with a dramatic hair flip. The people looking on are lapping up his every word, laughing too loud and too much. Nearly everyone in the school wants to be Sirius or fuck Sirius, so he’s gained an impressive audience. When James comes in, the laughter dies down for a moment but when they realise he’s alone, the giggles start up again.

Casting a bemused look around the groups of people packed into the small room, James picks his way around seats and tables to plonk down next to Sirius. He throws an awkward grin at everyone, trying to seem charming when he realises Lily is there, looking like she wants to murder Sirius. Not unusual, but still strange - everyone else seems to find whatever Pads is saying hilarious. Apart from Peter, actually - he seems to be having an existential crisis off to one side, looking even more uncomfortable in a big group like this than usual.  
“What’s going on?” James pips in, quirking an eyebrow at Sirius who throws him a flirtatious smile in return.  
“We’re just discussing love interests - specifically Moony’s. AKA Me, right, Prongs?” James freezes - he’s sure he told Sirius to keep this a secret. He opens his mouth to say something, probably a cuss of some sort, but he can’t get any words out.  
“Uhhh….”   
“I mean, it’s kind of weird, isn’t it? Like… Pervy, really. Do you think he looks at my arse when I bend over? I’ll never be able to pee next to him again!” 

Remus walks in and assesses the situation - he hasn’t heard anything, but seeing James at a loss for words is something to write home about.  
“Um… Hi.” His eyes flit around the room, seeing everyone look at him with gleaming eyes or avoid his gaze entirely. Something isn’t right. He sits down next to Sirius, who is looking smug with a shit-eating grin on his face.  
“Hey, Moony baby.” Sirius coos, throwing his arm around the back of Remus’s seat. Rem half laughs and half frowns, shifting away from Sirius.  
“Wow. Charming, Sirius.” He replies sarcastically, glancing over at Peter and picking up how terrified he looks. He pats at his face - is there something on it? Why is everyone staring? “What’s going on?”

”Nothing, Remus, darling, we were just talking about who we’re  _ mooning  _ over, weren’t we guys? So  _ who  _ are you mooning over, Moony?” Rem starts to shift uncomfortably, feeling his anxiety kicking in. Sirius sounds mocking and it makes him feel small - he wishes he had stayed for additional chemistry tutoring instead of coming to lunch today.   
“Shut up, Black, you’re a conceited dickhead and you’re just overcompensating because you can’t get it up thanks to your supermassive ego weighing everything down. Come on, Remus, let’s go and get some lunch.” Lily appears at his side as if from nowhere and Rem can’t help but feel relieved, standing up and following her out, casting a confused glance over his shoulder at Sirius, who is acting like nothing out of the ordinary has happened.

“Speaking of lunch, Sirius - let’s go and get some. Now.” James hisses through gritted teeth, pretending to grin widely. Sirius raises his eyebrows innocently and grabs his bags, walking ahead of James to swing his hips provocatively. It goes mostly unnoticed but if anything only riles James up more than turns him on.

James overtakes him once they’re out of the common room and strides ahead, physically shaking from anger. They make it to the largely deserted boys’ bathrooms, which are deserted due to being disgusting,

“What the  _ fuck  _ have you done?” James snarls, his back to Sirius as he tries to compose himself. Sirius is still playing innocent, picking his nails.   
“What do you mean, James?” James whirls round on him with a feral glare, his glasses glinting in the fluorescent overhead lights.   
“You know what I fucking mean. What part of ‘Keep this quiet’ didn’t make it through your thick skull?” James is clenching and unclenching his fists, hardly able to look at Sirius for the rage welling up in his chest. How dare Sirius do this to Remus, their friend, who trusts them and has always been there for him in times of need no matter his own situation? James feels indignant and hurt on Rem’s behalf.   
“Oh shut  _ up  _ James, you’re overreacting.” Sirius rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.   
“Overreacting?! You’ve told the whole school that Remus is gay, Sirius. You didn’t for one second consider how he would feel if he knew.”   
“But he doesn’t know, and what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”   
“How do you know? You don’t give a fuck about anyone else’s feelings anymore apart from your own.” 

Sirius’s face screws up and he puffs his chest, standing up straight.  
“How anyone else feels? No one gives a _fuck_ about how I feel. Least of all you, Mister Fuck My Best Friend and Flirt With Evans. No one cares about me. And it’s not my fault that Remus is a fucking _poof_ for me James.”   
“What the fuck are you doing, Sirius? Calling your best mates poofs when you shag boys yourself? All _any_ of us have done recently is care about you and you just keep throwing your shit at us like an idiot _ape._ Even _I’m_ above this stuff it’s so minging and immature. Get fucked, Sirius.”  
“You tend to help with that, James. But you know what? Go fuck Evans. Oh wait, I forgot - she fucking hates you.” 

Remus is late to reg the next day, keeping James and Peter on tenterhooks every minute that passes after the bell goes. Sirius is sitting talking to some girl from across the classroom, using plenty of unnecessary smoulder as if he’s going to make James jealous. James hasn’t spoken to him all night apart from the basic hellos and goodbyes. Sirius hadn’t realised how badly he was going to take this.

When Rem comes in, James sits up straight from his awkward slouch. Moony’s cheekbone is bruised darkly and he’s walking gingerly like his ankle hurts.  
“You okay, mate?” James asks as Remus lowers himself slowly into his chair, holding his breath. When he drops his bags down next to him he fires James and Peter, both looking at him worriedly, with a wan smile.  
“Yeah, yeah, just fell on the stairs last night.”

“Fucking faggot.” Lucius sneers, leering at Remus who takes a generous step back. Bella stands next to Lucius along with Narcissa and Snape, all looking very pleased with themselves. “You’re fucking disgusting, Loopy Lupin, perving on your best friend.” Rem flinches and looks down at the floor, the insults hitting a nerve.  
“Fuck off, Lucy.” Remus snarls, pretending not to be hurt. Lucius’s eyes glint and Bella delivers a hard slap to his already bruised cheek, causing a sharp inhale.  
“Disgusting poof.” She hisses, stepping back into the group formation as they surround Rem. The bus shelter door is shut with Regulus standing guard outside to alert them of people coming in. Knowing they have that security, Lucius really doesn’t hold back.

He shoves Remus down onto the floor with a sickening smile.   
“You probably like that, don’t you Loopy? Being down on your knees? Disgusting faggot. You’re not good enough for  _ anyone’s  _ cock.” Being shocked as he is by the turn of events, Remus isn’t expecting the hard blow to the head he receives. His mind doesn’t catch up to him until Bella and Lucius have given his legs and sides a few good kicks, finally allowing him to curl up like his instincts are begging him to.

When they’re done, Remus is curled up tight, biting the inside of his cheek to avoid crying out. A bus is due to arrive, so Lucius and his other cronies lay off and leave. Snape lingers behind for just a few seconds, looking down at Remus with contempt.  
“I always knew there was something wrong with you. Disgusting.” He walks out to catch his bus, leaving Remus curled up on the floor on his own.

“Remus, what happened to you?” Peter gasps as Rem walks into reg the next day, looking like he’s barely slept a wink.  
“Nothing really, I fell down the stepladder when I was going up to the loft. Broken rib, bloody nose - that’s all. Nothing to write home about.” Remus speaks a little too briskly, trying to brush off the concerned look Peter is giving him or the careful scrutiny James is treating him to. Sirius is talking to Meadowes, who is largely disinterested in his persistent flirting. James hasn’t spoken to him for another night and he thinks he’s going to go mad - he’s so preoccupied with this that Remus coming in with a limp and a bruised face and arms doesn’t even register.

Remus isn’t in school on Monday the next week. James has been keeping a close eye on him, trying to work out what’s going on. Why Rem would be turning up to reg covered in bruises is beyond him - why he’s being so secretive about it is also hard to explain. He’s starting to piece things together when the bell for first class goes and Remus still hasn’t turned up.  
“Where’s Remus?” James asks Sirius and Peter as they walk to maths. Sirius shrugs nonchalantly, too busy coming up with a new excuse as to why he hasn’t completed the homework set for today.  
“Think he said he had a doc’s appointment today.” Sirius replies, barely even looking at James. James sits next to Peter that day and doesn’t say a word in Sirius’s direction.

After school, Sirius stalks off on his own in a bad mood. Shrugging it off, James heads to the bus stop. When he steps inside, Malfoy, Reg, Narcissa, Bella and Snivellus are standing there in a tight knit group. They’re all looking smug apart from Reg, who looks permanently worried these days. James pulls a face and sits as far from them as he can.  
“No Remus today, then?” Malfoy asks lightly. James starts, having hoped to avoid them entirely - there’s too much on his mind to be putting up with arsehole elitists today.  
“No.” James snaps, trying to ignore them as much as he can. He can hear Bella giggling madly at something that Lucy murmurs under his breath.

When a bus pulls up, the group starts to wander out of the shelter at a leisurely pace. Lucius hangs back just slightly to turn around and sneer.  
“Have fun visiting your poof friend, Potter. Watch he doesn’t try to get into your pants.”

If James had any doubts about what’s going on with Remus, they’re pretty much gone now. He feels blind rage towards Lucius, Bella, all of them, but most of all Sirius. How could he let this happen to their best friend? Balling his hands into fists, James spends the whole bus ride to Remus’s street audibly gritting his teeth.

“Oh James, thank goodness you’re here!” Hope Lupin all but ambushes James when she opens the door.  
“Hi, Mrs Lupin.” James smiles tightly, still furious from what he’s found out. “Is Remus home?”  
“I don’t know what to do with him, he’s been in his room all day and won’t come down. I wanted to take him to the hospital…” Hope trails off, looking down at herself - James notices she’s in her nursing uniform. “I should be at work.” She sighs, patting the front of her tunic down. “But I’m so afraid to leave him… Who’s doing this to him, James?”  
“I have an idea, Mrs Lupin. I’ll stay with Remus - you should go to work.” 

James takes the stairs two at a time and doesn’t bother knocking on Remus’s door. Standing on the threshold of the room, he thinks Rem is sleeping, but notices a moment later that his eyes are simply swollen shut. Cursing under his breath, James crosses the room and sits down on the edge of Remus’s bed.  
“You didn’t fall down the stairs. Or down the stepladder going into the loft. Remus... What the fuck happened?” 

Rem is trembling, doing his best to look up at James despite his swollen eyelids. James can see he’s got a broken nose and his whole face is bruised, his lips burst too. Pulling back the duvet, James sees more and more bruises - broken ribs galore.   
“James… Do you hate me?” Remus’s speech is thick and wavering.  
“No, never Remus. Why would I hate you?” James takes Rem’s hand, careful not to touch his scabbed knuckles too hard.  
“E-Everyone keeps l-looking at me weird now and then a-at the bus stop, M-Malfoy a-a-and B-Bella and a-all their lot k-keep beating m-me up, saying I’m a f-f-f- _faggot_ and that I-I’m disgusting and a-a _poof._ I don’t know h-how everyone knows.” Remus is sobbing gently, breathing like he’s been winded. James groans and leans down to give him a hug, trying not to hurt Rem in the process.  
“I would _never_ hate you for anything like that Moony. It’s not bad that you like boys. I don’t give a flying fuck and anyone who does can go fuck themselves. There’s nothing wrong with you. Do you hear me?” Remus nods, weakly lifting his arms up to return the hug.

After that, James becomes something like a personal bodyguard for Remus. Lily also helps out, always ready to give anyone who so much as looks twice at Remus’s bruises a snarky comment. Sirius spends his lunch times in the common room bitching about the Marauders, sans Peter who is the only one who can be bothered with his bad attitude at this rate.

Eventually, though, even Peter is sick of it. James is doing detention over his free period in chemistry for not doing his homework, so Pete and Remus sit in the empty canteen with piles of chips after sweet talking the lunch ladies into serving them early. Remus simply gives them puppy dog eyes, his lips sore and bruised still, and they all go soft on him.

“Listen, Moony, I need to come clean about something.” Peter sighs, poking at his slightly too-salty chips with the plastic fork. Remus raises an eyebrow and nods for him to go on. “I don’t care about you being gay. Don’t think for a second I do.”   
“Thanks, Pete.” Remus smiles awkwardly down at his half-empty polystyrene box, trying to find a crispy one at the bottom.  
“But there’s someone that does. And they told everyone that you’re gay.” Peter’s voice is trembling nervously, looking around the cafeteria to check there’s no one within earshot. Rem leans over the table to hear him better. “Look, Sirius told everyone in the common room, called you a poof and a perv for fancying him,” seeing Remus’s look of surprise, he adds in “yeah, it’s pretty obvious you fancy him, Moons.” 

They sit in silence for a few moments, Remus looking low-key heartbroken as he eats his chips. Peter is watching him steadily, surprisingly unflustered despite the difficult conversation topic. The long, uneasy moment ends when Rem calmly puts down his fork and looks back up at Peter.

“Well, fuck him then.” 

A week of no-one speaking to Sirius goes by. Everyone feels the tension between the four of them in their shared classes, and by the way that James never walks home with Sirius anymore despite their shared destination, it’s pretty obvious that they’re not on good terms. Instead of worrying and feeling guilty about anything, Sirius only becomes more indignant as the days go by. He’s sick of all the confused, hurt looks Remus keeps giving him whenever they’re in the same room, and of the way that Peter won’t make eye contact at all. Worse is the way that James is staring at him icily whenever possible so that Sirius can essentially feel his glare crawling over his back.

James’s parents are going away at the weekend for a business trip. They’d tried to make arrangements for James and Sirius to stay with the Longbottom’s but James convinced them otherwise, reasoning that Remus would come and stay with them and he always has a ‘calming influence’ on the other three.

Neither of James’s parents have noticed much amiss between Sirius and James, given that Sirius is always in his room ‘studying’ and James is always out playing football or training for cross country. In fact, they both seem at ease with each other at dinner despite never exchanging a word that Flea and Euphemia barely even lecture James on safety and misbehaving before they leave.

They were, of course, right to worry as ever since James found out that his parents were away for the weekend, he’s been planning a huge house party. Most of his year and even the year above are invited, and anyone that isn’t invited will probably turn up anyway. James, Peter and Remus have spent evenings after school at the Pettigrew house arguing over the best party playlists and trying to accumulate as much booze as possible for the night.

Remus has been terrified about attending the party, getting nervous butterflies every time he thinks about it. He knows that despite not being invited, Lucy and his cronies will probably find their way in at some point and the thought of coming face to face with them at any point makes him feel physically sick. His ribs are still bruised from the last time and he’s only narrowly avoided being alone with them in the bus shelter these last few days.

James has been waiting for Remus to come downstairs for a good hour and a half when he finally makes an appearance. James has greeted everyone that’s come through the door, searching the crowds for unfriendly faces with a careful eye. Once Rem is downstairs with everyone else, James pretty much latches himself onto him to make sure he doesn’t attract any unwanted company.

The music is incredibly loud and luckily each song that comes on goes down well thanks to the three Marauders’ efforts. Sirius is, of course, present and milling around the crowds flirting with anyone in a 2 foot radius. Remus can’t help but stare at him - he’s pulled out all the stops, his hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail and wearing a white t-shirt and black skinny jeans. Even after what Padfoot did, Rem can’t help but fancy him. Who wouldn’t?

James has also put in a lot of effort with his look tonight, having hassled Peter and Remus constantly about which checkered shirt to wear and with which jeans. His hair has been, as usual, carefully mussed up and he’s overdone the cologne just a little bit. He’s been searching the crowds for Evans tirelessly while never leaving Remus’s side, much to Rem’s exasperation.

Remus himself is wearing his best jeans, a pair of tight black skinnies, and an oversized button-down shirt that near hangs off him it’s so huge. He feels scruffy and out of place next to the other Marauders, with even Peter, who usually lingers in the background, attracting a fair whack of attention tonight.

A few drinks in (for Remus - James is already so drunk he’s nearly blind) and Remus is standing back against the wall, people watching. He can see James and Sirius arguing over something on the other side of the room and rolls his eyes, wishing James would just leave it. He doesn’t notice Lucius and Bella slinking into the room, flaunting their designer clothes and sneering at anyone wearing anything that could be classed as ‘high street’.   
“Oh, look, if our dear Loopy isn’t back on his own two feet. Not using Potter as a little bodyguard anymore, are we?” Remus groans, looking around for someone to help him out here. All the girls that had been eyeing him up were suddenly nowhere to be seen, as if Lucius’s approach reminded them that Rem is some kind of damaged goods for liking boys.

“Fuck off, Malfoy.” Remus sighs, pretending to find all of this very amusing. He’s feeling a little more confident tonight thanks to the alcohol in his system and he intends to use that to his full advantage.   
“How dare you speak to him that way?” Bella snarls, taking a threatening step forward. Remus doesn’t react, just stares at her unflinchingly.   
“What, did I upset your boyfriend, Bella? I didn’t realise he needs a pit bull to keep him safe. I think you’re just annoyed that he’s so fucking  _ obsessed  _ with me all of a sudden. The minute he finds out I like boys, he can’t keep away - must be trying to get some.” Remus knew it was a bad idea to open his mouth before the words start falling out, but can’t seem to stop himself. Lucius and Bella are staring at him, too shocked for words.   
“What, are you going to let him say such things?  _ Do  _ something, Lucius!” Narcissa snaps, seeming to come out of nowhere. As if coming out of a trance, Lucius raises a hand uncertainly before coming to his senses and punching Remus across the face.

James is there before the gasps finish rippling around the room. Rem staggers back into the wall with a yelp and cups a hand over his nose, which is starting to bleed. James gets himself between Lucy and Rem just in time, Remus throwing himself away from the wall and aiming blindly at Lucius, glowering through watery eyes. James managed to catch his hands in a deft movement despite being off his face, shushing Remus in a way that’s supposed to be calming.  
“Lucy, Bella, Nancy. So nice of you to come.” James sneers, apparently sobering up quite impressively thanks to the sudden change of mood. He’s swaying and slurring a fair amount but his voice rings clear throughout the room, someone having turned off the music to hear the drama better. “Sadly, you’re absolute cunts and I’d really appreciate it if you’d all fuck off. Oh, and take Snivellus too, please - he stinks.” 

This prompts a lot of drunken laughter, but Lucius isn’t at all amused.   
“How dare you speak to me like that. My father will hear about this!” Malfoy snaps, looking ready to aim a punch at James at any second.   
“Who gives a fuck about your dad, Lucy? Not me. Now listen up, you useless bastards - this goes for all of you lot too,” James gestures vaguely to the crowd now surrounding them. “If you have a problem with Rem being gay, then you can _fucking suck it_ , got it? Got a problem? Stay away from me and Rem. Because if you’ve got something to say, you can say it to me.

Remus is surprised to be pushed up against the wall by James, who’s kissing him wildly. He can hear gasps and wolf whistles from around the room, staring at James’s forehead in total confusion. When James doesn’t relent, he eventually kisses back, still confused but deciding to go with it. Despite the pain flaring in his bloody nose, he finds himself a little turned on by the roughness of James’s mouth on his. James is really undeniably fit but this is definitely really, really weird.

“Jame- mmph, James you canmpth stoph now.” Rem manages to get out, kind of grossed out by the taste of vodka and beer on James’s mouth. When James finally pulls away, he grins at Rem like a big, dopey puppy, his eyes wild and shining.  
“Fuck them, Rem - I’ll look after you.” 

On Monday, there are still whispers going around the school about James’s stunt. Sirius pretends not to care about it but he can barely stand to look at Remus, the jealousy of watching James kiss him like that still burning.

If anything, Sirius sees Rem differently now - he’s not just a massive dork with a sort of unconventional sexy look about him, he’s someone who James might actually desire. Even though he’s 99% certain that James is only really after Evans, Saturday night has cast a shadow of doubt on the situation. He keeps on looking at Remus to see what’s so good about him and it isn’t hard to suss out.

First, there’s the wavy messy hair that looks soft to the touch and nearly blonde in the light. Then there’s his sharp eyes, a really lovely amber colour that’s both warm yet piercing. His skin is flawless and he has high cheekbones and thick, soft lips. The more Sirius thinks about it, the more attractive Remus is to him. How didn’t he see it before? Of course he’s always known that Remus is attractive but he’s never felt like Rem was  _ his type.  _ Now he’s starting to think differently and it’s making him feel weird.

Remus, James and Peter are sitting at the cafeteria, Monday lunch. James is awkward, looking down at his food without much appetite, unusually. He’s got cross country training after school and he’s made some small talk about that, but otherwise seems to be avoiding eye contact. Finally, with a blush, he looks up at Remus.  
“Listen, Moony, about Saturday…”  
“It’s fine, James, I know. You’re not really my type, anyway.” Rem grins, snorting at James’s hurt face. Looking like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders, James perks up pretty much immediately.  
“That’s great. I mean, not to say you’re not very cute, I bet you’ll be a real hit with the boys, but you’re, uh, not my type, either.”  
“It’s because you’re not ginger.” Peter puts in with a smirk, making James scowl and Rem laugh.  
  
“Speaking of gingers, Lily actually gave me a compliment in biology today.” James grins, puffing up his chest.  
“What, did she tell you you’re less of a prick than she thought?” Remus gets a light elbow in the ribs for that, making him wince slightly.  
“Well, yeah, basically. But she also told me that what I did on Saturday was really decent. We’re going to the cinema on Saturday.” Peter and Remus turn heads with how loud they whoop and bash on the table, clapping James on the back relentlessly.  
“Well done, mate. Who knew kissing a bloke could get you a girlfriend - I must be a good luck charm.” Remus ruffles up James’s hair even better, Peter looking on like a proud parent.

James and his parents are going to Cornwall for a week to stay with family. Remus knows that the minute James leaves he’ll be at Lucius’s mercy but he doesn’t let his worries show. Now that he knows the rest of the school are on his side, he doesn’t feel so alone. His mum doesn’t even interrogate him every time he comes home now.

Sirius was, of course, invited to go to Cornwall with them and is currently in the process of convincing Euphemia to let him stay back.  
“Mrs Potter, I’d _love_ to come to Cornwall. It’s just that, ever since I left home I’ve really been struggling at school. It’s hard to concentrate on equations with this much on my mind…”  
“I know, Sirius, but I’m awful worried about you staying back on your own. It’s a big house, you’d be lonely!”  
“It’ll be okay, I’m sure Peter will let me stay a couple of nights. Maybe being alone in the house will let me concentrate more on my studies - I’m so worried I’ll fail my exams this year, they’re coming up so soon.”   
“I suppose you might be right - James is so loud around the house I can barely get anything done! Okay, Sirius, but see that you don’t just mope around in your room all day after school. Go out and do things! You look so pale these days.”  
“I’ll be okay, Mrs Potter. Thank you so much for understanding.”  
“Not a problem, dear. And please, call me Euphemia.” 

Sirius has been watching Remus all through maths, trying to see how he’s feeling. Rem hasn’t looked in his direction once - is he over him now? He wonders what he’s thinking about. Has Lucius said anything yet? James and his parents left last night, Sunday, and knowing that James isn’t there to stick up for him, Remus looks a little more on edge than usual.

He can’t help it. Sirius follows him to the bus station after school, having kept his distance all day. He can see Regulus standing outside the shelter closest and knows that  that’s where Remus is.   
“What are you doing here?” Regulus snaps as Sirius approaches.  
“Go home, Reg.”  
“I am. I’m waiting for the bus, like you would be if you hadn’t gotten yourself kicked out.”  
“Fuck off, Regulus, you’re pathetic. Are your fake friends in there beating up Remus? Go on, tell me. Is it because he’s gay? Are you afraid? Trust me, you’re not his type.” Sirius shoves Regulus out the way and, true to his character, Reg gives Sirius an affronted look before stalking off to the other end of the station, looking nervous and moody.

Inside, Remus is down on his knees, with Lucius gripping his hair. The other lot aren’t there this time, just Lucy, who is leering down grotesquely at his best friend. Sirius feels a strong protective urge rising up in his chest.  
“I bet you’re used to being down there, Lupin. I bet you like it, too. You’re probably turned on right now.”   
“Get. Away. From Remus. Now.” Lucius startles just slightly but doesn’t let go of Rem’s hair. Sirius’s blood is curdling. When Remus looks at him, he looks scared and confused, the defiance that was in his eyes before melting away.  
“Why should I, Black? Do you want your turn? It was _you_  who called him a pervert in front of everyone. Have you changed your mind?”  
“I said GET AWAY FROM HIM.” Sirius roars, crossing the room in two strides and punching Lucius as hard as he can on the nose. He hears a crack, confirming the break, and Lucius screams, falling back from Remus with blood streaming down his face. “How dare you touch him? Stay away from him you cunt. If you touch him again I’ll _kill_ you.” 

Lucius is still down on the floor, with Sirius delivering kick after kick to his sides. He can hear Remus saying something to him but can’t make it out over the sound of the blood rushing in his ears. The older boy is barely fighting back any more, only bringing his hands up to defend his precious face. Then, all of a sudden, Sirius is being dragged backwards by the collar of his school shirt.  
“Sirius, _stop!_ ” Remus shouts in his ear, breaking Sirius out of his rhythm. He looks down at Lucius, who is clutching his broken nose and sniffling pathetically.  
“How does it feel, Lucius? Having the crap beaten out of you when you’re all alone, with no one to help you?” Lucius doesn’t reply, just glares. “Look, there’s your bus. You better go and get it.”  
“My father will hear about this.” Lucius hisses as he leaves, his shirt spattered with his own blood.

Sirius and Remus stand in complete silence, neither knowing what to say. Remus’s bus is due to arrive in five minutes.  
“Sirius…” Remus finally speaks, Sirius staring down at the floor. “Why did you do that?”

At first, Sirius doesn’t reply. He can’t help the feeling that he went too far, and that there will be consequences - not for the first time. He looks up at Remus, relieved to see he isn’t glaring.   
“It’s my fault… And I couldn’t stand it…” Sirius is speaking at barely a whisper and Remus has to strain to hear. Sirius is so close to him, for the first time in weeks. It feels like normalcy is slowly returning.  
“You need to get out of here. He’ll come back soon, I’m sure of it - he didn’t get on his bus. He’ll come with other people - Bella, Narcy maybe. Could be he’ll get his dad’s blokes to come. You need to lie low for a couple of days. Call in sick at school.”  
“I can’t go back to James’s, his family are away. I said Pete would take me for the week but he isn’t speaking to me. I don’t know what to do.” Sirius’s monotone is wavering now, sounding like he might be about to cry. Remus frowns and puts an arm around his shoulders, carefully. He almost expects Sirius to pull away from him, disgusted.  


“You can stay with me.”

  
  



End file.
